Do you remember dear child?
by Dragon-Tom
Summary: It has been a long hard road that Humanity has ridden. The world as we know it is gone. We had sought enlightenment and allies. Instead, we were rewarded with a war which was not our own. Plunged into the unending turmoil of the Universe. Angels and Demons fight, and we are caught in the middle. Terra must make a stand. Humanity must make their own fate. Heaven and Hell be damned.
1. Chapter 1

"Do you remember dear child? Do you remember that fateful day when you asked the most painful question? When you found out why I was so different from the others?

Sweet child of mine, do you remember my answer? I'm sorry that I was unable to keep my promise. I'm sorry that it was I who hurt you in the end. I can only hope that you will remain strong and carry through this. Please do not let my efforts be in vain. I leave to you, the last remnants of who I truly was. An axe made from Heaven's purest light, a shield made from his own desire to protect humanity and my only personal item, a long since darkened halo. May you one day find the power to return the light to that halo. May you one day fulfill my own promise to you. Good luck, my child."

Excerpt from diary recovered forty years after the last great war which nearly destroyed humanity. Owner unverified. Believed to have been the last angel of whom many now speak. He sacrificed his own immortality, and became the greatest monster the world had ever seen. Sacrificing his own salvation to ensure that humanity would not be lost to the darkness. There is one last entry upon this diary. The final entry is of a different hand, and speaks only of the child's love for this monster. One final scrawl, regarding the day that the light returned to our long since darkened world.

"My dearest friend, my protector, my 'parent', my guide and teacher. It has been many years since we parted ways. I still miss you to this day. There is one final task, that very same task which you began so long ago. The halo glows dimly now, it bears an unworldly light. Perhaps this final task shall restore the once glorious luster. Humanity has been to the breach and fought its way back thanks to you, my friend. You gave us what we had long since lost. Hope. You sacrificed everything to ensure that we would survive. Today, we shall finally be free of the last stronghold of darkness. On this day, we march against the armies of Hell itself. Where Heaven has dared not tread, humanity shall cut a blazing path. Our resurrection is at hand, and it is thanks to you. You inspired us to retake our destiny. You gave us the tools and knowledge to retake what had once been ours. Finally, we shall pay our homage to you. We shall rid ourselves of the demons once and for all. I shall fight my way into the very depths of Hell alone if I must, and I shall find you. You who were our salvation. Child of Heaven, it is our turn to save you. Heaven's greatest weapon… was not a single angel. It was the determination of that angel. The pure dedication to a race that was deemed lost by its own creator. You who abandoned your place in Heaven, safe from the horrors of the mortal plane. Banished to Hell upon your fall, we now march in unison. Hell is only the beginning. Heaven has much to answer for, and we owe you a great debt. You were our salvation, now let us be yours!"

Many tales are told of the day that light returned to our world. The great nuclear war which destroyed much of our planet. Humanity persisted in small areas. We truly are a stubborn race. Holding on to faith and beliefs that some day everything will work out. Maybe there really was an angel who forsook his own to save us. To this day, we still do not know. We did find "Hell", a land where the remaining invaders of our land whom had begun the war dwelled. There are tales told even there now. Tales of an army led by a single child. A child whom held a large dimly glowing ring. Humanity did rise up, and it did indeed defeat the invaders of our home. Whether they came from Hell or not remains to be seen, but we know one thing for certain. Where there is hope, there is light. Where there is no light, we shall shine our own and save those whom have lost their way. We have a debt to repay. Let none forget, the angel who saved us that day.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sometimes, the worst punishment of all is merely surviving to meet those whom had abandoned you." – Name Unknown, Entry from computers aboard Terra Domina (Human ship found during exploration of galaxies surrounding the Sol System).

From the ashes we had risen. Burnt and scarred, we now carried those whom could no longer walk. Humanity had been all but defeated. Left behind by our "saviors", we fought the Demons. Our inspiration was one person. A person whom had abandoned their own race in the hopes of saving ours. This person was the Angel whom we had fought to save in return for his efforts to save us. The Demons have been defeated. Forced from our world by the might and will of humans. Now we shall rebuild, explore, and seek out our own vengeance upon those whom had sought to annihilate us. We would bring justice to a universe whose only constant was death. Humanity had risen again, and we would not waste this chance to set right all which had been done.

Years have passed since the final days and eventual retaking of Earth. Humans have moved back into space. The Halo now glows with the blinding brightness of a thousand suns. It is the remnants of an ancient energy transmission network established by the Angels. With the help of our Angel, we have harnessed the power it receives, and catapulted ourselves back to our place in the system. Space faring ships are produced in a matter of weeks. War ships now patrol the spaces in and around our home. We shall not be caught off guard again.

It is one of these war ships which I now command. The H.R. Terra Domina or Humanity Reborn Terra Domina. The second largest ship in the current fleet and one of only three Titan class ships, she is outfitted with Neutron Blasters and Anti-Matter Railguns. A crew of seven-hundred humans inhabit this ship alone. She can house many more, but for now all that are needed in this small amount. Thanks to the designs imparted to us by the Angel, we have made many ships like her, both larger and smaller. Each ship is capable of being controlled by a single person should the need arise.

Sitting aboard the bridge, I watch silently as the salvage crews from the newly commissioned salvage fleet begin cleaning up our solar system. Debris from ships lost recently and in the past to the Demon invasion. Our own, the Angels and Demons all litter the system. It is from these scraps that we have begun building more and more ships. The metals reprocessed, systems which survived in space recovered and restored, data archives being decrypted and used to better our information. We were unprepared for the destruction which the Demons had wrought upon us. The debris fields of the system attest to that. More of our ships than any others litter the world around us. But we did not fall without a fight. For every six of our ships salvaged and recovered, we find one or two of theirs.

This is nearly the end of my shift overseeing the safety of the salvage crews. My ship lays waiting for the next ship to arrive and relieve us of our watch. As we prepare to get under way, a comm. signal comes through from one of the watch posts in the system. A large energy spike is occurring in the area within which we're salvaging. The operator reports that it has the same properties as that of an Angel ship. Strange that they would have returned now as having forsaken us so long ago. The salvage ships are ordered to return back to the outpost while we investigate. Two more ships are dispatched to assist us, the Aries and the Falcon, both assault cruisers with slightly thicker than average hulls and outfitted with energy weapons arrays. As we approach the point in space where the spike occurred, we find what appears to be the remnants of an Angel battleship. It's hull torn asunder, a portion of the starboard side is missing entirely with arcs of light traversing the gaps between decks.

We assume she's a dead ship until we receive a weak transmission. As it comes up on our displays, it is the visage of an Angel Commander. She appears weak and disoriented. The inside of the ship that we can see in the feed matches to the outside. Damage everywhere, destruction and loss. She speaks only a few words to us; "They are coming… We failed… P-p-ple-ase help… save Heaven." The screen goes blank, and the arcs along the hull begin to weaken and diminish. She's lost power, and is now adrift in front of us. Our ship launches a rescue crew to see whom we can save. My security team and I take a pod directly to the bridge section in hopes of recovering the commander.


End file.
